Shooting accused faces death penalty

The former student charged with killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida last month will face the death penalty, prosecutors have said.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, is scheduled for formal arraignment today on a 34-count indictment, including 17 first-degree murder charges. Cruz’s attorneys have said he would plead guilty if the death penalty was not pursued in the Valentine’s Day massacre.

The office of Broward County State Attorney Michael Satz filed the formal notice of its intentions yesterday.

The action by prosecutors does not necessarily mean a plea deal will not be reached.

The only other penalty option for Cruz, if convicted, is life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Ira Jaffe, whose son and daughter survived the shooting, said he respected the wishes of the 17 families whose children were killed and that time would be better spent finding solutions to the problem of mass school shootings.